


Looking for Group

by roundandtalented



Series: Looking For Group [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Humanstuck, M/M, World of Warcraft - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-02-13 11:54:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2149806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roundandtalented/pseuds/roundandtalented
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He leaves. And being the useless asshole you are, you don’t even chase after him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you didn't think this was where I was going with the last two fics, you don't know me well enough.
> 
> I'm kinda breaking my rule of 'no posting til it's finished', but, I was excited, and I'm about 50% through it. So, why not.

You wake up to what you’re pretty sure is the sounds of the apartment door opening. You’re not positive though, because you’re stupidly warm, Sollux is sprawled unconscious on top of you, and you left the TV going when you dragged Bean-pole Mcgee to bed at 5am. 

You’re not wearing any clothes, Sollux kicked the covers to the end of the bed probably around 9am, and you need a fucking drink to help cool down. That’s enough motivation in itself to get you out of bed.

Peeling a sleepy Captor off you takes a bit of work. For all that he says he’s not clingy, he always ends up on you or wrapped around you when he’s tired, and his hold on you is never easily relinquished. 

You grunt and push and flick at him until he whines, rolling over and groping for the covers blindly. You get them for him and he immediately cocoons. It would be cute if you didn’t know he’ll only last a few minutes without your body heat.  
Gotta go fast.

You’re certain you hear shuffling in the kitchen as you get to your feet, and that just pisses you off.  
There are only three people in existence who have copies of you apartment key. One is in your bed, still not in the world of the living. Another is on the complete other side of the world, and you haven’t seen in person in roughly a year. The third potential intruder, and obviously the culprit, is your older brother. Lovely.

You don’t put clothes on. You _do_ prepare an angry lecture about respecting people’s privacy, knocking, and the basic human decency of giving you a call before just showing up uninvited. Hey, angry lectures run in your family, and it is your God-given right as the younger sibling to call your brother out any chance you get.

If you know Kankri, he’ll claim you’ve exposed his eyes to parts of yourself he didn’t want to see- that’s what the lecture is for. To shut him up and maybe make him feel bad.  
The feeling bad part is a long-shot because your brother is a piece of shit human being.  
You stumble into the kitchen but do not find said piece of shit brother.  
Instead you find your piece of shit best friend who is supposed to be across the world for another week or so _at least_.

And he’s covering his eyes like he’s never seen your junk before.

“Kar!” he squawks, hands in front of his face. You’re a little too surprised to think quickly, but after a moment of standing there like a complete brainless tool, you snatch a tea-towel off the oven handle and hold it in front of yourself. 

A second look at Eridan shows he’s actually in the middle of making coffee with your absolutely ancient coffee maker- you mom gave it to you when you moved out, otherwise you wouldn’t even bother with that shit. His expensive bag of fancy stuff sitting next to the kettle. Why is he here and being sweet like that in your kitchen?! That’s not fair! That’s not allowed!

When he uncovers his face, because you didn’t even tell him it was safe to look, he just, knows you. He probably heard the towel as you grabbed it- he smiles, sheepish and a bit sleepy himself. Jetlag, you realize. He must have just got in, wanted to surprise you. Fuck he’s such a good friend to you-

There’s a soft creak on hardwood flooring not far behind you. You wince.

“Babe, are you making coffee?” Sollux is standing in the doorway of your bedroom, rubbing at his eyes sleepily. He’s at least wearing his boxers, but the wobbly ring of angry hickies around his neck are a dead giveaway.  
Shit.

"Oh." Eridan’s voice sounds raw, like he’d not spoken just a moment ago. Like he’s not spoken in ages. It hurts just to hear it.  
The way he deflates, crumbles in on himself. It breaks your fucking heart- you’re pretty sure seeing Sollux just broke _his_ heart. And that’s your fucking fault.  
Because you didn’t tell him.

You didn’t let him know that you and Sollux were a thing now- he hadn’t really picked up on it in-game, over skype. Probably because you and Sollux didn’t do a lot of the cooing at each other or pet names (though Sollux has already started getting fond of calling you babe). It’d only been, what, a month? Maybe two? You’d barely had time to get to that kind of shit.  
Eridan sets everything that he’s doing aside, and just, walks out. He doesn’t even grab his fancy coffee, or his little baggie of sugar cubes. He mumbles a _sorry_ around the door, and then just. He leaves. And being the useless asshole you are, you don’t even chase after him.  


"Awks."  
You don’t even have the heart to be mad at Sollux- he has no clue what just happened. Well, he might, but it’s a vague one. It’s. Not something that’s come up. Not something you wanted to bring up.Not yet.  


“I’m going back to bed.”  
He catches you as you try to walk past him, arms around your middle, shooshing your sniffles with whispers into your ear.

“Heyyy, KK it’s okay,” Sollux kisses your cheek but all you want to do is cry, because one of your best friends, who you maybe slept with almost two years ago, just walked in on you naked and now knows about your not so secret boyfriend.

And it should have been fine, surprise boyfriend should have been fine- but you’re an asshole for not telling him. For keeping it from him.  
Because obviously, you hurt him.

Sollux ushers you back under the covers, even though they’re warm and you feel gross. He pets your hair and lets you hold him crushingly tight. And the perfect sweetheart that he is, he doesn’t ask you to tell him why you’re crying, he just promises it’ll be okay. Maybe not right now, but, it’ll be okay eventually.


	2. Chapter 2

He doesn’t talk to you for a whole week. Which, you normally wouldn’t be too concerned about. Eridan has a life, usually. But now that he’s home again, there’s not a lot for him to do. No papers, no readings, no cleaning his fancy apartment… He doesn’t have many friends aside from you, and you’re pretty sure you’re the only one over here that he kept contact with over the past two years.  
 

But he blocks you on skype, and turns off his phone.

 

You feel like a piece of shit.

 

You should have told him, so he knew to expect it. You know that. You’re an awful friend for not cluing him in that you maybe sorta had a boyfriend now. As much as you want to claim innocent and wave it off that you and him only had a one night fling, you know it was more than that to both of you. It meant more than that, as much as you didn’t want it to.

 

Until Sollux happened, you maybe entertained ideas of trying a real, actual relationship with Eridan when he got back. But you hadn’t wanted to make solid plans, because two years is a long time, and what if _he’d_ moved on.

 

Judging by the look on his face when he’d seen Sollux that morning, he hadn’t. Maybe he’d thought he had, but. That hurt him. _You_ hurt him.

 

And the worst part about all of it, is the fact that the only way you want to make it better, is to hold him and kiss him like he probably wants. Because if you’re honest with yourself, you’re not over him either.

Thinking about the night you spent together before he left flusters the fuck out of you. You wouldn’t be against having sex with him again? Which strikes you as kind of odd because, well. You have a wonderful boyfriend of only two months who _loves_ riding your dick ‘til the sun comes up- you’re not even kidding. He’d try it if you let him.

 

But Eridan’s different than Sollux in a way that’s actually really nice. Eridan’s emotional, and you’ve known him for ages. There’s a sort of attachment there, something that took ages to grow into real fondness and enjoyment and-

 

Yeah you’re not over him leaving for two years. Not even a little bit.

 

Sollux is. More supportive than you thought he’d be, once you’d told him. Well, you only really told him that you had sex with him before he left for school, but, you’re pretty sure he figured out the rest on his own.

 

He and Eridan are friends, kind of. Through you and WoW, mostly. But he genuinely enjoys Eridan’s company on call, and you know they have ‘toons on a different server together that they play when you’re too busy to join them. But still, you worry that you’ve probably put a strain on any potential friendship they had by fucking everything up between you and Eridan.

Mostly, Sollux just assures you things will get better. He holds your hand and lays with you in bed. He orders you shitty Chinese food and brings it to your room so you don’t even have to get up or dressed until you have to go to work. He can be really sweet when he knows you’re actually upset. A piece of shit just as often, but, his sweet moments make up for those.

 

"Do you want me to talk to him?" He asks, all timid like he’s not sure he should.  
“No, it’s my fault he’s upset.” He rolls his eyes and kisses your forehead, like he’s heard you say that a million times and he doesn’t know what he expected by asking.  


 

“But sometimes hearing from someone else that a person you’re mad at is sorry kinda,” he shrugs, moving the covers with his bony shoulders, “Makes them think about a different view.”  
“You’re sweet, but, this is my problem, and my fault.”

 

Sollux sighs, shaking his head at you.  
“You know, I think you’re both being drama queens about the whole thing.” You narrow your eyes, ready to be offended by him. “This is actually really, I dunno, high-school? Are feelings that hard for you two?”  
“Oh because you’re great with your own, right?” He doesn’t even have to be looking at you to know you’ve rolled your eyes along with your shitty comment.

 

“I didn’t say I was. But I do express them pretty bluntly.” He pushes a hand into your hair, moving your curls about as he pleases. “No confusion there, I just flat out say shit. People either appreciate it, or get offended.”

 

You suppose that is true. You’re kinda, both, actually. It offends you, pisses you off, and drives you a little crazy when he has horrible timing- but you know he’s honest. There’s no secrets with him, and no guessing what he feels on a matter because he just fucking says it. Usually with some sort of witty remark tagged on to lessen a blow or make it seem like he’s not super enthusiastic about anything.

 

"I guess we are. I just. I feel like shit."  
You hide your face in his neck and a pillow. He doesn’t have to see your face to know you probably just going to cry again.

"Why don’t you tell him that then?"  
“Nnngghhhh.”

He laughs, soft and tired, as if you being stressed is stressing him out- it probably is.  
“If he unblocks me any time soon, I will.” You give in, and he squeezes you with a hug.  
“Promise?”  
“Promise.”

 

He makes you pinky swear that next opportunity you get, you’re going to talk _feelings_ with Eridan, let him know you’re sorry, and make everything right again. Then he flat out tells you you’re a piece of shit for not letting him in on this whole thing right off the bat, but he understands why, and isn’t mad.

You’re happy for that reassurance, but even happier when his soft kisses turn a little hungry, and he ends up giving you a lazy handjob. You’re not usually one to leave him without being fucked into the mattress (his preference), but he insists you need the stress relief, not him.  


 

He’s probably right.


	3. Chapter 3

When you get home from work, Sollux is already on your couch, and already stripped down to boxers and a wife beater.  
He’s got his headset on though, and keeps nodding even though the other person clearly can’t see him. Just in case, you’re quiet when you close the door.

"Seriously dude, he’s moped around in bed with me for like, a week. He’s upset."

Fuck, he’s talking with Eridan. Why the fuck did Eridan block you, and not him?  
Well, you maybe don’t give him enough credit- he’s a whiny dickbag, but he /is/ intelligent. He knows when someone has been left out. He has no real reason to be mad at Sollux.

 

"Yeah, I figured. But for real though, that shit doesn’t bug me. Like at all."  
You squint as you unbutton your dress shirt and loosen your tie. Sollux knows you’re here, he’s already glanced over once. He’s just… being really quiet about it.  
You lean over the back of the couch and watch his screen.

 

Eridan’s up in the corner on call, and next to him onscreen. They’re on their other toons, just doing shitty low level quests. Its mindless work, gets less EXP, but you know Eridan likes the company of being in a group.  
You suppose that maybe says a lot about him, honestly.

"Here, KK’s home from work, and I think we should all talk. No- Don’t you fucking dare bail on me now, douchelord. No. I said no, we’re doing this. Eridan, if you hang up, I will let you die. I will let Knucklerot and Luzran beat you to a bloody pulp and I will not help you. I will blink the fuck away. I’m serious."

You try not to snicker too loudly as Sollux unplugs his headset.

 

"Fucking talk, both of you." He narrows his eyes at you real quick, holds up his hand so he can wiggle his pinky finger at you, then goes back to his mage.  
It’s quiet for a moment. You only hear low volume casting and Luzran’s grunts as Eridan and Sollux take him on.

“Hey Kar.”  
You swallow, sigh, and give in.  
“Hi Eridan.” 

“I uh. I’m sorry. For reactin’ the way I did.” His voice wobbles, and you watch Sollux take over doing most of the damage in game- he doesn’t say a word about it either. Not a single taunt at Eridan like he usually would, because he knows this isn’t the time.

"I’m sorry I didn’t tell you." You feel some of the tightness around your chest and shoulders ease up immediately, and it surprises you how quick the next bit comes. "I was a shitty friend for that, and you deserve better."

You hear him sniffle over skype, laugh a bit awkwardly.

"We’re both shitty."

“Mostly me.” You shrug, even though he can’t see you. “I should have told you I started seeing Sollux as soon as that happened, and I should have clued him in that we had history more than just as friends ages ago. So.” 

You pause to ruffle Sollux’s hair and he smirks, leaning into your palm.

“Sorry to you as well, assmunch.”

He grins. 

“Eat an entire ass.”

“No, Captor! No memes!” Eridan protests over skype, laughing even as he scolds him. You’re pretty much the same, chuckling as you push his head away.

 

There’s a moment of silence again. Sollux dings- both you and Eridan say ‘grats at the same time, and that sorta, gets things rolling again. 

“So yeah. I’m sorry. For everything. Do you, maybe wanna come over?” You clear your throat and Sollux looks back briefly.

"Actually, I’ve kinda got an idea, and I hinted it to douche-canoe, but I’m not sure he thought I was serious." 

“Oh god.” Eridan whines. “No I didn’t. I thought you were just jerkin’ me around like you always do.”

 

You’re already concerned as to where this is going. Sollux even looks nervous, and that’s not usually a good sign.

“Uh /huh/?” you prompt him, waiting for him to spit it out.

"I was thinking, you know, if you’re not totally against it- because I don’t mind, it doesn’t bother me like, at all," his hands are away from his laptop, gesturing at himself instead. That’s how you know something is important- he takes his hands off the keyboard. "That maybe we could try something as like. The three of us."

"Like dinner?" You ask him, an eyebrow raised. You have this distressing feeling he means more than ‘just dinner’.

“Well we could start with that, sure. And that’s very much a thing that could be usual, if it works out okay, but-“

“Captor if this is your way’a askin’ for a threesome, i’ll have you know i’m a proper gentlemen who at least needs to be bought dinner first-“

“See, there we go, dinner first, I’m good with that, but I’m talking long-run here. In for the full deal, like.” He’s just sitting there on the couch looking very distressed, hands up in front of him like he’s afraid if he puts them anywhere else it’ll break his whole idea.

"One second- Sol, turn on your video." Eridan’s face appears on the corner of the screen and Sollux moves to make the image bigger, then turns on the camera on his laptop too.

It’s quiet again, and you can’t tell if Eridan, sitting shirtless on his bed, computer in his lap and hair completely unstyled, is looking at you or Sollux.

 

“I just.” your boyfriend’s shoulders slump as he exhales.  
“You two really obviously care about each other still.” He looks back at you, eyebrows pinched together with worry. 

“All you’ve done is mope about the potential of him not being in your life.” He turns to look back at his screen. “And all you’ve done for the past two hours is fuss about how much he means to you right back. So.”

"You think that would work." You’re doubtful, and it’s obvious. Sollux sighs, pushes a hand through his hair, and then nods.

“If you guys keep an open mind about it, yeah.”

Eridan just, kind of looks like he’s going to cry, honestly.

“I’m not so good with sharin’.” he admits it, and you know it’s true. He’s awful at sharing attention. “But. I do really care about you, Kar.”  
His voice wobbles and your heart catches in your throat. He wants to try. He wants to be with you, any way he can have you, even if he has to share you with Sollux.

"We could give it a test run." Sollux offers, voice just loud enough for the microphone to catch it. "Something simple. Like dinner." A smile tugs at his lips, and it maybe gets a soft chuckle out of you. He’s still a shit, even when he’s being sincere. 

“It could completely fuck up everything.” Your voice sounds raw, like you’ve not used it all evening. “You know, if it doesn’t go like you think it will.”

"I’d be willin’ to try." Eridan offers. The way Sollux grins gets a smile out of him too. "We could work out any bumps. Talk it out."

“It would be a lot of talking.” Sollux agrees with a nod, then a look up to you. “A lot of honesty about feelings.”

“Don’t just look at me like that, I know I fucked up,” You whine and push at his shoulder, but it gets him to huff out a quiet laugh. “I get it, you mean me.”

"On all’a our parts though." Eridan admits. "Kar, I’been completely smitten for you a long time, an’ I never said a word. An’ I should’a."

Your cheeks are so bright it hurts.

 

“It would’a saved us all a lot’a trouble.” He chews his lip, shrugging uncomfortably, “If I’d just fuckin’ told you, y’know?”

“Same.” Sollux chuckles, looking up at you, “I’d been crushing on you and waiting the whole time.”  
You hide your face in your hands and whine, soft and embarrassed by them, cheeks warm against your dark palms. 

“You dicks. I sat worrying for months. That my feelings weren’t returned.” You peek through your fingers when Eridan snorts. “With both of you, too. I didn’t even learn my lesson.”  
Fuck, this is so awkward and embarrassing, everyone is a different shade of red.  
"Well." Eridan starts, but he doesn’t go anywhere with it, he just keeps smiling. 

 

“Come over for dinner.” And it’s Sollux who insists. “Bring your laptop and we’ll do a few dungeons. I’ve wanted to actually have the three of us playing together in the same room for months now.”  
And, you just agree. You agree to his little plan, and Eridan is so giddy on the other end of the call he nearly knocks his laptop to the floor when he announces he’s going to shower so he can come over right after. 

Once the call is closed, Eridan too busy getting ready to keep talking, you crawl into Sollux’s lap and he kisses your forehead until you stop fretting that you’re going to fuck everything up.  
Well. At least until you shut up about it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made such good use of my break month ): class starts up again next week, but hopefully between all the buses I'll be riding in the future, I'll have time to finish this fic up.

You don't shut up about it. 

Sollux goes to shower, and you press yourself against the bathroom door and groan at him until he informs you he actually is getting in. You catch him when he gets out and he paps your cheeks, kisses your forehead, and tells you it's your turn for the shower before you can get word in. That doesn't stop you once you're clean and toweled off, though.  
You fuss and fret and whine 'til nearly seven thirty, which is when you're expecting Eridan to show up at the door. 

You barely bother to tidy up the living room, Sollux puts minimal effort into the kitchen. It's not like Eridan hasn't seen your apartment at its very worst before. Heck, he's seen it during finals week when it's pretty much ground zero.

"He's not gunna say anything about it." Sollux insists, and you roll your eyes.  
"Yes he will! It's _Eridan_!" You know he'll actually say something if he's feeling comfortable enough because he  >loves to nag. He's just _like_ that. "It'd give him something to complain about!" 

You scrub at the spots on the stove Sollux didn't even bother with. He's even lazier than you are and that's a fucking feat.

"Well I don't think he will. He's a piece of shit, but he's a wimpy piece of shit." With a shrug, he grabs a can of Pepsi from the fridge and heads back out to flop on the couch. 

You follow him a few moments later when there isn't any more gross spots on the counters and stove. You _know_ Eridan will be working there, so, you figure those places are important. He always ends up cooking with you, it's just a thing. Or, at least, it used to be a thing, before he fucking got on a plane and all that bullshit.  
You don't even get all the way comfortable next to Sollux before there's a timid knock on the door and you just _know_ it's Eridan. Really, who else could it even be?

Sure enough, you open the door and there he is, backpack slung over his shoulder, looking exactly the way he did when he left and just as nervous. Though, this time you know for different reasons.

"Hey Kar." The way his voice wobbles, skittish and quiet- it just does you in.  
You don't give him a chance to run. You immediately wrap him up in a crushing hug and hide your face in his stupid sweater so he can't see if you somehow cry.

"I missed you." You admit it, easy and painful all at once. Because you missed him more than you can put into words, and fearing that you'd lost him, by your own fault, had been the worst thing to happen since your mom passed. 

He sniffles first, but doesn't cry. He keeps the tears at bay with what might be magic, but he hugs you right back, tight around your shoulders.

"I missed you." He echoes, giving you an extra squeeze for emphasis. You feel his cheek rest against the unruly mop of curls you call hair and you can't help but feel like you fit together rather well.

Until of course, you hear Sollux call out a teasing but affectionate " _Awwwwww_ " from his seat on the couch. The shitlord is grinning like the cat who caught the canary, chin set on his arms which he has crossed over the back of the sofa. He looks comfortable, like he's been there since you got up. Probably has.  
You can't even give him hell for it either, he's too damn pleased with himself.

At least Eridan chuckles, rolling his eyes as he ushers you back a step so he can close the door behind him. He's so used to being in your apartment still, he doesn't even hesitate, despite his obvious nerves. 

"Dinner first, then games." you find yourself saying it as Eridan slides his backpack off and leans it against the back of the couch. Sollux huffs, turning back to his Pepsi and minecraft, but you know he's secretly starving because you've not seen him eat more than a bowl of cereal all day. That, and he's got the stomach of a seventeen year old boy. He would eat you out of house and home if he wasn't such a lazy sack of shit. 

"Who's cookin'?" You're glad he sounds hopeful, because you've maybe been looking forward to him being next to you at the stove. Just a little.  
"Sollux can't cook to save his life."  
"Can't, or won't?" Eridan cocks an eyebrow, already sassing the same way he has online for the past year.

"I can make cereal, and toast." Sollux doesn't even look up, too engrossed in his game.  
"He burnt mac and cheese. To the bottom of the pot."  
Eridan scoffs, following you to the cupboards.  
"Yeah no, not allowed in the kitchen?"  
"Not allowed in the kitchen." You confirm with a nod, reaching up on your tiptoes for the pasta tins.  
"There's some chicken in the fridge for Sollux and I, and the big mushrooms are for you. I'll maybe have a couple too I guess? But yeah." You shrug at him as you fill your big pot with water and set it to boil on the stove. "If I had known you were coming like, yesterday, I could have got more meal options."

You offer an apologetic little smile, and the way he grins back, appreciative all the same makes you melt. Like he doesn't even care, like everything is right back to where it was- You being stupidly sweet on him and him eagerly showing how much he loves your attention with zero remorse. He's so easy to read, feeling-wise. Always has been. If he's happy, the world knows about it.  
It's adorable.

"It's okay Kar," He reaches in the fridge to do as he's been asked, "Y'know I like mushrooms anyway." He plops them down next to you and goes for the cutting board, still remembering where you keep even after being away for so long.  
"What else can I cut up?" He asks, back in the fridge. "What sauce we usin'?"  
"Alfredo sound okay?" you've got the cupboard open, jar of premade Alfredo sauce right in front of you. You hear Sollux's ' _yes _' from the living room and know that means he's listening in rather intently.__  
"Yeah sure."  
"Just put in whatever you like I guess?" You set the jar aside and start getting out a frying pan for the chicken. There's not a lot of meat there on the little Styrofoam tray, but, it's just going to be you and Sollux eating it, so it's not a big deal. 

Eridan chops up a carrot, some broccoli, and a couple of the mushrooms to go in the pot. He bumps your hip as he passes you, looking for a pot for his separate mushrooms, but it's sweet and playful. You're quickly running out of burners on your little apartment stove, and he ends up right next to you, pushing his mushrooms around the same way you fuss at the chicken, though, with a little less spices thrown in. 

"Smells fucking awesome," is the only warning you get before there's a bag of bones pressed up against your back, arms looped around you and chin in your hair. 

"Hopefully it'll taste just as good." You attempt to shrug him off, knowing Eridan's watching. He's trying not to, you can tell by the stiff way he tries to flip his giant mushrooms. Sollux won't be dismissed though, and you catch him glancing over at Eridan, right before he smooches your cheek obnoxiously. 

Eridan starts to move back to the cutting board, to get the veggies for the pasta you just tossed into the boiling water, but Sollux catches his sleeve. You're about to protest, tell your boyfriend to leave him alone, but. 

"Your turn." He prompts him, and you'd think it ill-mannered or maybe controlling, if you hadn't caught the nervousness in his tone, the way his head dips almost shyly. He genuinely wants to share you, he wants Eridan to be just as happy with you and _oh_ the way he takes a step back, eases off, instead slipping one of his hands into your right one, it having been useless at your side anyway. Sollux Captor being sweet will be the death of you. 

You swear you hear a little sound from Eridan, but he stays where he is, chewing his lip, thinking on the offer. He looks at you, then Sollux, then you again before leaning in and pecking your cheek. It’s so small and simple, but your cheeks are hot and you maybe stir the pasta a little harder than necessary. 

It seems that's all Sollux wanted, because he lets your hand go, gets the plates down from the cupboard for you, then returns to the living room. 

Eridan's shoulders relax once he's gone, and he lets out a little laugh that's really half relived sigh.  
"He means well." you offer him, and Eridan tosses a little smile your way, obviously catching your warm cheeks. You go to follow it up, but aren't even sure what to say, so you just keep working on dinner with him. The silence is fairly comfortable, and he bumps your hip with his again after a while, playful but reassuring. 

By the time you get portions onto plates and your dishes in the sink, your stomach is growling so loudly even Eridan can hear it, you fucking know he can.  
He doesn't comment, but his smile is almost a smirk as he helps you carry forks and knives into the living room. 

You nearly end up dumping Sollux's dinner onto his laptop, but manage to avoid what would be an utter disaster by dodging his gangly limbs as he tries to make more space on the couch for both you and Eridan. He actually caught Eridan heading for the other couch and managed to stop him with some short, sharp ' _ah-ah! Oh no you don't_!'s. 

Your boyfriend takes one end, and insists you sit between him and Eridan. He gives you a look that says he's serious. 

"Thank you for dinner," he barely gets it out before he shoves a forkful of pasta in his mouth, laptop balanced on his knees and Minecraft still open.  
You nod, Eridan makes a noise, and then you both follow Sollux's example- though a little less daringly. Both you and Eridan would rather not risk your laptops, so they stay safe on the coffee table instead of your laps. Perhaps Sollux just has more experience and knows he won't dump everything on his keyboard so easily. 

"S'good." Sollux tries to inform you around a mouth of pasta. There's Alfredo sauce in the shitty excuse for chin scruff he's been too lazy to shave off. He's so gross and awful that it's kind of cute, in an ' _at least he doesn't have Dorito fingers_ ' sort of way. 

"Got a little, uh." You tap your chin where the sauce is on him, and he nearly drops is forkful of saucy chicken onto his keyboard. Freckled cheeks terribly pink, he scrubs at his face with the back of his hand, obviously embarrassed. 

"So what toons are we playin'?" Eridan asks, cutting open one of his giant mushrooms with a knife. He's really the only civilized one between the three of you- you try, but honestly you're not even close to passing on that if the state of your apartment is anything to go by. Usually you call it 'an organized mess'. 

"Lowlevel?" Sollux suggests, just before stuffing another bite between his lips.  
"Okay but which one. I swear every time we hit twenty five, you start a new 'toon. Fucking finish something for once."  
Your boyfriend grins at you, mouth closed, full of pasta and chicken. It’s so dumb and cute that you snort out a laugh.  
"How about we work on one'a those then?" Eridan sets his plate aside, though he's still working on it, popping a mushroom piece in his mouth as he reaches for his backpack. He pulls out his laptop, which really, is too big and heavy to sit on his lap for long. The fucker is nearly thirty pounds and the sound Sollux makes when he sees the Alienware backing light up nearly has you choking on noodles. 

"What the fuck, you never said you had that!"  
Eridan looks up from his keyboard and over to Sollux, who is now almost leaning over your lap to get a better view. You have to admit, the purple keyboard backlighting is a nice touch. 

"Figured you'd bitch." Eridan shrugs, but gets up to go plug in his cord. "It's gettin' kinda old, t'be honest."  
"You wealthy little fuck, I bet it still runs like a dream." He's so jealous, it's adorable. Only Sollux would get jealous over computers and not sharing his boyfriend.  
"You've got an Asus though," Eridan gestures at Sollux's lap, nearly empty plate sitting on his messy keyboard. "S'not bad."  
"I'm broke as fuck. This is my second one." You _thought_ you'd seen one with a red sticker! Hah! "I have a piece of crap iMac at my place for certain work things, and a bunch of other ragtag computers, but nothing other than the Asus twins for gaming. Strictly gaming." 

You roll your eyes at how he calls them twins, because you know he probably has them set up exactly the same, or, at least so only _he_ could tell the insides apart. 

"Still better than Kar's." Eridan smirks and you just agree with a nod, your mouth full.  
"Anything is better than KK's. I tell him that when I have to fix it for him every other month." Sollux has officially closed Minecraft and started up WoW, so, you suppose it's time you opened said piece of shit laptop. You pick it up from the coffee table and trade it with your empty plate just as Eridan sinks back down next to you. 

"When I win the lottery, I'll let you know." You nudge Sollux and he just laughs.  
"Why, so you can get me to pick out something not awful?"  
"I value your advice, shitbag. Feel special."  
"It's an honour to be held in such high confidence." He puts his feet on the coffee table and you definitely catch the way Eridan looks mildly offended about it. Like he's never seen _you_ do that. 

"So which twen'y fives?" He asks, logging in while your laptop takes it's time coming out of hibernation. "Doomhamer? Elune?"  
"Something where we're not fucking _Belfs_ would be good." Sollux shoots him a teasing look over your head, probably thinks you don't catch it. Whatever, you're not mediating when they're so entertaining to watch bicker. 

"You just hate good lookin' races, stop bein' a pleb."  
"Did you seriously just call me a pleb? Are you real? Am I alive right now?"  
"You _know_ I'm not even usin' that word seriously, no need for a tantrum. It's irony, is all."  
"I don't think you know what that word means." 

You'd be worried if they both weren't grinning like idiots. You suppose this is just how they play- teasing each other with harmless little jabs. They're kind of endearing, doing their little back and forth in person. It's not like they hadn't seen each other's faces on camera, but, body language adds a whole new level to experiencing the Eridan and Sollux Snarkfest. 

"Velen." You decide for them. "Eridan was blue xeno bullshit, and you were a human."  
"And you were a fucking panda." He won't let you forget. Sollux Captor never lets anyone forget because he's an asshole. Your boyfriend, sure, but an asshole.  
"Oh yeah!" Eridan beams, "You took ages to meet up with us! I remember!"  
"You guys have the starter quests memorized for both your races, fuck you. I'd never played a panda before. Forgive my misguided curiosity on that night." 

The three of you eventually all log in, find you characters, and start playing like usual. There's brief discussion on whether or not to invite a couple other friends in to play along, but one has work, and the other has a real actual date instead of, well, what the three of you are doing and calling a date. Sort of. Are you calling this a date? Or is it just you feeling like that's how it's all going?  
It's going well, mind you, but it's still sort of testing the waters in a comfortable environment. It’s preferable, really.

Eridan wants battle grounds, Sollux wants dungeons. You just want to play the fucking game with the two of them, and either way, you're stuck as healer. Shitty panda healer, but a healer none the less.  
You keep having to scold Eridan for running too far ahead in Gnomeregan , and Sollux smacktalks the other DPS almost the entire way through the first two dungeons. Warsong Gulch is as chaotic and shitty as ever, but Alliance wins and Eridan gets all excited about that. He's terribly cute with his little bounces and hand flails.

There's a bit of a lull where the three of you go back to doing quests, selling off amour you have doubles of, and Sollux meticulously uses everyone's Wool and Silk to do his tailoring bullshit. He does it quickly, but it's still a thing you have to watch him fuss and grumble over.  
Eridan's just as thorough but with his quests instead. Every time there's a new one on his map, he's trying his hardest to get it completed before it's bothersome to the group to wait around on him. 

"I wish this was Minecraft so I could rapidly hit shift and hump you every time you stop to talk to an NPC."  
You bark out a laugh and Eridan sputters, shaking his head. Sollux grins and /dances on him instead, as if that's a close enough action to what he wanted.

"Seriously though, you take forever. Like, do you actually read the shitty dialog every time?"  
"I gotta make sure I'm goin' the right places!" Eridan protests, then queue's the three of you up for another dungeon. You could have used a little longer of a break, but, maybe it'll take a while to find two more DPS... hah, yeah right.

"You just look at your map you idiot. That's what it's there for." You nudge him and he nudges right back, making you bump Sollux too. Which, of course starts this weird, low key mosh pit on the couch, with you taking the brunt of it. At least you're built a little more solidly than the other two.  
You don't even get to hand your quest in before another dungeon is ready, so you've got terribly limited bag space the whole time, and you make sure everyone knows how upset you are about it. They just laugh. They're used to your grumping, you suppose. Used to it and like you anyway.  
It's comfortable, to say the least.

The three of you playing on the couch, you mean. Having Eridan right next to you, warm against your side and being a shitbag while you can swat at him is just so convenient and nice. He laughs a lot while he's playing.

After the shitty time away he's had, you feel like he needs that. He probably needs the actual comfort of another person, you realize after a while. Even the way your shoulders are pressed together seems to make him happy, so you don't say a word when he gets a little closer.

The whole time you play, Sollux keeps glancing over at you like he thinks you don't notice. He's such a pasty white boy his cheeks practically glow when you turn your head to quirk an eyebrow at him after what's gotta be around twenty little peeks.

You hear him make a soft little whine, like you've scolded him or something when really you're just curious why he keeps checking on you. Why he keeps watching how Eridan leans on you a little, and how you maybe lean back just the same tiny bit.  
He bites his lip, and tries to go back to doing quests, tries to keep up with Eridan every time he starts talking about something stupid in game, but he's obviously distracted.

"Sol, you just fuckin' pulled agro, do you want to die?" Eridan calls him out on it first, in his roundabout way of announcing he's aware of the distracted way he's been playing. "Or are you just a fuckin' idiot?"  
"You guys are just," He puts a hand to his mouth and almost moves his laptop away. He's in the middle of getting memed on by some troll! And he just! "You're being cute."

You look up from your laptop and straight ahead as if you were on The Office.  
"Cute." You sound unimpressed, but you're more shocked than anything.

"You should probably kiss or something."  
Eridan nearly removes himself from your side, but actually seems to think better of it before he can detach himself from you.

"You're really invested in this, huh?" It comes out of you as a genuine question, gentler than you expected.  
Sollux nods, covers his face with his hands like that's going to hide him _or_ the colour of his cheeks.  
"I want you to be happy." He admits, peeking out at you between his spindly fingers. "Both of you."

"An' what about you?" Eridan still sounds just as worried as you are. Not doubtful, but worried.  
"He's been blushing for the past twenty minutes because we were sitting cozy on the couch." You start to smirk and Sollux whines. "You fucking like it, don't you? You like the idea of sharing me."  
"Well, duh!" His cheeks are so crimson you can barely see his freckles as he shoves at your shoulder gently. "Who suggested this in the first place?"  
"Some nerd." 

Eridan's looking pretty smug too. Probably just enjoying seeing Captor embarrassed. The tension eases away a little, just with the three of you teasing and joking, real feelings tucked in there with the jabs.

"But seriously." You watch Sollux leave the instance, cool down be damned. Obviously he _is_ serious. You follow his example, and so does Eridan, just so the three of you don't end up dying. "I mean it. You guys are being cute and shy. Like, I've very aware you did the horizontal hello. The bouncy bed game. The naked Harlem shake."

He's been spending too much time doing website bullshit for the Striders. Their little metaphors are rubbing off on him. You shut him up by holding up your hands as quick as you can, one almost papping him right on the mouth.

"What I’m trying to say is, you don't have to just, sit there like you're well behaved, model citizens." You scoff, and exchange a grin with Eridan before Sollux can catch on. "You can actually get up in each other business, it's not going to upset me."

"Is he telling us he wants us to kiss?" You ask Eridan, feigning innocent.  
"I think he wants us to kiss, Kar." You're so glad he's playing along. He's been so shy and nervous about you all night, but maybe he just needed the confirmation that you wanted the contact and affection just as much as he did. And maybe you _have_ been being a bit too careful.  
You lean your weight on Sollux and he squawks when he catches your saucy little 'come hither' finger motion. Eridan laughs, but does as asked. He leans over you a little, bumps your foreheads together gently and you swear to fuck if he doesn't kiss you soon, your boyfriend is going to have an aneurysm just waiting for it.

There's a moment where he hesitates, looks you right in the eye, worried he's fucking up, and you cup his cheeks with your palms. They're warm from your laptop, which you had safely slid to the table, but not nearly as warm as Eridan is. You smile at him, and give a little nod, and that's all it takes. 

His first little attempt is so careful it's barely there at all. Just a brief brush of the lips, enough that you have to lean forward to catch him for more. He melts into it, eyes slipping shut and one hand coming up to cover yours.

He's, well, he's not the best kisser. He's not the worst either though. Better than Sollux's overeager mess of rapid attempts. It's been two years since you've kissed Eridan and he's still just as sweet. Just as careful, slow, and almost timid. He leads, but barely. As if he's afraid to. 

You hum at him and go back for more. Seconds, thirds, fourths, until he's less shy and more comfortable. Until he's the one who keeps coming back for more, missing your lips, bumping your noses. Until his hand finds your hair and starts combing through it.

Sollux makes another noise, a drawn out sound that almost sounds distressed, but really more frustrated than anything. Eridan pulls back immediately and you chase after him, dragging him back for another kiss and moving yourself onto Sollux's legs, sighing happily as you feel a spindly arm go around you, and a hand on your thigh that wasn't there before. You _knew_ that's all he wanted.  
When you peek back at him, he's smiling in almost an awed way, like he can't believe this is happening, that you're actually enjoying yourself and he gets to watch.

"I told you he likes it." You inform Eridan, who laughs a little and moves with you, over you. His cheeks are bright even with the tan of his skin, and that's such a treasure to you. This whole thing is, really.  
You catch his hand and put it back in your hair. He laughs into a kiss and playfully tugs. Before you can stop it, a breathy, pleased little sound slips out. Almost a moan. Probably a moan.

It _felt good_ though, so you don't worry about it. He could do that again if he wanted and you wouldn't mind, so long as he wasn't rough.  
Eridan pulls back, maybe an inch, just to check with you, be sure that you're enjoying everything still. You loop your arms around his neck so that he can't pull away entirely on you, and he tries to repeat what he did with the hand in your hair. It's almost like if he were combing it with his fingers, but trying to hold it at the same time.  
Your eyes go half lidded, probably a little hazy, and you tip your head into it. 

"Holy shit." You breathe out, wetting you lips.  
"Good?" Eridan checks, grinning a little out of excitement.  
Your confirmation is a breathy ' _uh huh_ ' and slight nod, then you pull him back to you for more kisses. You want his mouth on yours so you can moan into it, get your own hands in his hair while he tugs at yours, so gentle it doesn't hurt at all. 

His hand ends up under your shirt, his sleeve dragging against your skin as he smooths his palm over the pudge of your stomach. Sollux likes to touch you there too, and he's honestly been the one to calm your horrible self-consciousness about the extra weight there. He's told you he likes knowing you won't break if he squeezes you. By the way Eridan is so careful, not timid about touching, just gentle for your sake, you'd say he feels about the same.

His hand doesn't just stay there though. He touched up your side, over your ribs, your chest- anywhere he can. Your tshirt is loose enough that he almost has full range, and it surprises you how worked up this is getting you, just by him touching everywhere.

When he slides his hand back down, you almost panic. Your dick has been taking interest in the gentleness of his hands, but you've been all hot and bothered for a while now. You don't want to deter him from the kisses and touching, because that's nice, even if your boner doesn't get taken care of. You're fine with that, you're just, not so fine with him _knowing_ you're hard as hell in case it scares him off.

You don't get out a protest before he _does_ notice, because then there's a warm hand against the front of your pants, pressing ever so carefully. Eridan watches your eyes, your face, checking for any sort of negative reaction.  
There's no negative to give him. You press back and pant at him and pull him in for more kisses. Deeper ones, longer ones. Each and every one of them hotter than the last

Your couch isn't big enough for this kind of bullshit. It barely fits you and Sollux when he tries to initiate anything any other day, never mind adding a second nerd into the mix.  
You're sort of sprawled backwards in Sollux's lap as Eridan leans over you, sucking your bottom lip between his teeth and palming you through your jeans. You can actually feel Sollux's boner on your back, his thin track pants doing nothing to hide how much he's enjoying watching you get manhandled right in front of him. 

Part of you is very aware this is going way too fast. You just agreed to try all this 'sharing' nonsense, and sure, you've been enjoying it, it's been going well so far, but it's not even been twenty-four hours and- holy shit, Eridan just sucked a hickey onto your neck, and the moment he pulled away Sollux straight up moaned! If that’s not encouragement, you’re not sure what is.

You know going any farther could potentially fuck this up. You are completely aware of that. And terribly worried about it because both these shitbags are so important to you.  
But absolutely everyone involved is rocking wicked boners, so you've gotta ask.

"Bedroom?" It comes out breathy, almost desperate sounding. You don't care.  
They both nod, one after the other, and echo it right back to you.  
" _Bedroom_."  
Your heart does a flip, and you nearly fall right off the couch.


End file.
